Faster Than Light


Book Description

"Even though most physicists believe that the speed of light is as fast as anyone can go, Einstein's theory of special relativity does not rule out faster-than-light (FTL) travel. On the contrary, it seems to indicate that certain superluminal or FTL effects would permit us to re-experience the past: time travel would become a reality, not science fiction. Through this crack in the cosmic egg steps Herbert, a Stanford physicist and author of Quantum Reality, who summarizes clearly current speculation and theory about faster-than-light travel. Along with space warps, black holes and tachyons (hypothetical FTL particles), he looks at the so-called 'quantum connection'—an alleged force said to instantaneously link any two subatomic particles long after they have bumped into each other. Free of the woolgathering that tints much writing on the 'new physics', this brave, exciting book should send scientists back to their drawing boards; for the nonspecialist reader, it reveals a world much stranger than Star Trek."—Publishers Weekly "Original, challenging, and audacious."—San Diego Magazine




Faster Than The Speed Of Light


Book Description

The idea that the speed of light is a constant - at 186,000 miles per second - is one of the few scientific facts that almost everyone knows. That constant - c- also appears in the most famous of all scientific equations: e=mc2- Yet over the last few years, a small group of highly reputable young physicists have suggested that the central dogma of modern physics may not be an absolute truth - light may have moved faster in the earlier life of the universe, it may still be moving at different speeds elsewhere today. In telling the story of this heresy, and its gradual journey towards acceptance, Joao Magueijo writes as one of the three central figures in the story, introducing the reader to modern cosmology, to the implications of VSL (variable speed of light) and to the world of physicists. The initial rejection of Magueijo's ideas is beginning to give way to a reluctant acceptance that the young men may have a point - only the next few years will tell the final fate of this 'dangerous' idea.




Lightspeed


Book Description

This is the human story and adventures of the great scientists who measured the speed of light -- which takes eight minutes to get here from the sun, so that when we look at the stars we are looking back in time. The book narrates how, since the ancient Greeks, scientists from Faraday, Maxwell, Fizeau and Michelson struggled to understand how light can travel through the vacuum of outer space, unless it is filled with a ghostly invisible vortex Aether foam. Thereader moves from Galileo's observations of the eclipses of Jupiter's moon for navigation, to Einstein's theories and his equation E = mc2, and all the quantum weirdness which followed. Space probes,the Transit of Venus expeditions, the discovery of radio, optics and satellite navigation, and the amazing scientific instruments built to detect the Aether wind are described.




Loving Faster Than Light


Book Description

This is an insightful examination of one of the essential problems of the history of science - how does elite, esoteric knowledge get read, used, modified, and owned by those outside the professional scientific community? Price focuses on one of the defining scientific ideas of the 20th century and skillfully demonstrates the many genres and styles through which it was adopted and changed.




What's Faster Than a Speeding Cheetah?


Book Description

What's faster than a cheetah?—no animal on earth can run faster. But a peregrine falcon can swoop faster than a cheetah can run. And the falcon can't compare to an airplane, a rocket, or the speed of light. Lively text and watercolors will make children laugh while they learn all about speed.







Fields of Color


Book Description

Fields of Color explains Quantum Field Theory to a lay audience without equations. It shows how this often overlooked theory resolves the weirdness of Quantum Mechanics and the paradoxes of Relativity. The third edition contains a new solution to the measurement problem ("the most controversial problem in physics today") and shows the quantum basis for Einstein's famous E = mc2.




Why Does E=mc2?


Book Description

A deeply fascinating, engaging, and highly accessible explanation of Einstein's equation, using everyday life to explore the principles of physics.




Our Mathematical Universe


Book Description

Max Tegmark leads us on an astonishing journey through past, present and future, and through the physics, astronomy and mathematics that are the foundation of his work, most particularly his hypothesis that our physical reality is a mathematical structure and his theory of the ultimate multiverse. In a dazzling combination of both popular and groundbreaking science, he not only helps us grasp his often mind-boggling theories, but he also shares with us some of the often surprising triumphs and disappointments that have shaped his life as a scientist. Fascinating from first to last—this is a book that has already prompted the attention and admiration of some of the most prominent scientists and mathematicians.




Life at the Speed of Light


Book Description

“Venter instills awe for biology as it is, and as it might become in our hands.” —Publishers Weekly On May 20, 2010, headlines around the world announced one of the most extraordinary accomplishments in modern science: the creation of the world’s first synthetic lifeform. In Life at the Speed of Light, scientist J. Craig Venter, best known for sequencing the human genome, shares the dramatic account of how he led a team of researchers in this pioneering effort in synthetic genomics—and how that work will have a profound impact on our existence in the years to come. This is a fascinating and authoritative study that provides readers an opportunity to ponder afresh the age-old question “What is life?” at the dawn of a new era of biological engineering.